Of all the artists for whom C.F. Martin & Co. has built Signature or Custom Artist Edition guitars, perhaps none plays such a range of settings as guitarist extraordinaire Laurence Juber. In just the past two years, he wrote and recorded (using his various "LJ" Martins) his new, all solo album Wooden Horses, played scores of television, movie and album sessions that ranged from solo guitar and small combos to big bands and full orchestras, and performed dozens of concerts.

Such a variety of experience spurred Juber - whose career path has evolved from lead guitarist for Paul McCartney and Wings to composer, arranger and world-class fingerstyle guitar virtuoso - in the development of his previous Martin guitars (for information on them and on Juber himself, see Volumes 12, 16, 18 and 24 of The Sounding Board at www.martinguitar.com), so it is no surprise that it would inspire his new OMC-LJ Pro Laurence Juber Custom Artist Edition guitar, which features big leaf maple as its primary tonewood.

"The initial inspiration came when I was playing a movie scoring session and contemplating the dozens of maple-bodied instruments in the orchestra string section," Juber recalled. "I became curious as to why maple is so fundamental to that family and yet less common in the flat-top guitar world. With its clarity and projection, maple creates a quite different sonic palette than rosewood and mahogany.

"For my new Custom Artist Edition, I chose flamed big leaf maple to provide 'presence' rather than 'brightness.' It also looks great. The Adirondack spruce top provides the full bottom I associate with vintage Martin tone, but paired with maple, the bass is much more defined and the midrange more prominent and complex. Plus there is a smooth, almost burnished quality to the high end. I also opted for a two-piece maple neck, like that on many archtop guitars, which contributes generous sustain."

The maple neck features a "Modified V" profile, generous 1 3/4" width at the bone nut and a diamond volute at the base of the headstock. The handsome black ebony headplate bears the classic Old Style gold "C. F. Martin & Co." decal and nickel Waverly tuners with butterbean knobs. The ebony fingerboard is unadorned - with no position markers. A grained ivoroid heelcap and chrome strap button complete the neck.

The belly bridge is fitted with a compensated bone saddle. The bridge pins are crafted from genuine ebony. In the fingerstyle guitar tradition, this Custom Artist Edition doesn't have a pickguard. Aging toner on the body and neck, and Martin's polished lacquer finish give this guitar unique, vintage-style patina.

The OMC-LJ Pro Laurence Juber Custom Artist Edition comes factory-equipped with D-TAR Wavelength electronics. "It provides all the dynamic headroom I need and captures the natural sound of the guitar really well," he commented. As for the guitar itself, "I didn't set out to design a killer stage guitar, but the OMC-LJ Pro has turned out to be exactly that. The sound doesn't embrace the player, but rather projects to the audience and offers a clean palette for the artist to shape his or her sound. Its transparent tone also makes it an easy guitar to record."

One would think Juber's recording and touring schedule should have taken all of his time during the last two years, but apparently not so. In addition to the previously mentioned accomplishments, he wrote music for the up-coming video game "Diablo III," served as producer and musical director for two stage productions, including "It's the Housewives," a musical he co-wrote with his wife Hope, and produced Al Stewart's latest album.